Monday and the start of the second week in our trip, we were not going to overstretch ourselves. We sailed all 27 nautical miles from Gloucester to Isle of Shoals, the most southern islands in Maine. We were officially in Maine.

We set anchor off Cedar Island and went for a quick visit to Smuttynose Is. Landed in Haley’s Cove among a mix of pristine waters and fields of kelp. The volunteer guard handed us some tall sticks so that the nesting seagulls would attack the top of the sticks not our heads. With thoughts of Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, we set forth on the well-marked trail. Alec, camera in hand, documented all seagull chicks on sight – possibly hundred photos of Herring gulls and Black-backed gulls on several states of development.

Back on Por Dos, we had an uninvited dinner guest, a Herring gull settled first in the outboard, when no food came, he moved to the bow of the dinghy. Seeing no response, the cheeky gull ventured directly on to Por Dos’ port stern. This was too much for Captain Mark and sons. Thus, the seagull was shooed off. It came back a couple more times but once the dinner plates were collected and put away, it gave up on us.